Forever
by Valentine'sNinja
Summary: She had been their spirit, their star, keeping them going, and holding him together. Fifty sentence challenge, CloudTifa.


**Title: **Forever  
**Fandom:** Final Fantasy VII  
**Pairing:** Cloud Strife/Tifa Lockhart  
**Theme Set:** Alpha  
**Rating:** K through T  
**Warnings:** Sex is implied but it's nothing graphic at all.  
**A/N:** Woah... I've been sitting on these prompts for the 1Sentence community for a couple of months now, but late at night the inspiration has come along and I finally finished them. I think I may have still pushed the limits of _one_ sentence, but I tried my best to keep them short. Anyway, this baby is dedicated to OCValkyrie, who is going through a rough patch right now, and I really hope this cheers her up. Also, these weren't beta read, so please excuse any typos/grammatical errors. It's _way _past two in the morning and I need to get some sleep... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII and am making no money off of the characters used in this piece of fiction.

...............

**01 - Comfort**

He'd never been much into hugs, but he couldn't deny that after coming home from a long delivery, the feel of Tifa's arms around him made all the tension fade away.

**02 - Kiss**

He had been ten when he had received his first kiss from her, and while other kids had worried about 'cooties,' he had worried about the blush that had reached the roots of her hair.

**03 - Soft**

Laying together in bed, after having solidified their relationship in the most basic way, Cloud reveled at how Tifa's skin felt under his rough fingertips, and how different his heart felt now that the fight was over.

**04 - Pain**

The pain racing through his entire left arm, and the black ooze that came and went were nothing compared to the look on Tifa's face the last evening he saw her before leaving.

**05 – Potatoes**

Tifa had a thing against potatoes that Cloud found humorous, but it truly was a sight when Marlene was reduced to the motherly figure, telling her guardian that she needed to eat her vegetables.

**06 - Rain**

Nowadays, every time it rained, Tifa smiled and looked to the sky, grateful; it was when the raindrops were falling over her eyes and cheeks that she was reminded that Aerith had been the one to return Cloud to her.

**07 - Chocolate**

Cloud could feel his mouth running dry, and his breathing quicken while he watched Tifa's lips part to take in a chocolate covered strawberry.

**08 – Happiness**

It had taken him many years to finally understand what true happiness was; he realized then that all he needed was to know that Tifa and his family were safe and happy for him to live in peace.

**09 – Telephone**

Cloud let his head drop down on Tifa's shoulder for the third time when he heard the telephone ring; who did he have to run through with his sword for some quiet time with his wife?

**10 – Ears**

For their first wedding anniversary, Yuffie thought it a funny idea to give them a copy of the Kama Sutra; Cloud didn't think his ears had returned to their regular color, especially after Tifa suggested they try a particularly interesting page from the book.

**11 – Name**

When he had been old enough to understand what his name meant, Cloud had initially hated it; but then, years later, watching Tifa watch the sky and comment on how much she loved clouds, he had found some enjoyment in his name, too.

**12 – Sensual**

Her tongue was making the muscles of his stomach contract in sensation, but he had to admit that feeling the slow, sensual motion of her hair across his sensitized skin felt just as good.

**13 – Death**

After seeing the tainted strip of gauze in the church, something inside of her had died; later that night, she'd cried herself to sleep and had been plagued by a nightmare of never seeing Cloud's blue eyes ever again.

**14 – Sex**

Cloud found that Tifa didn't need to do anything bold in particular to get his body racing; just one look from those shapely, beautiful eyes—whether angry, annoyed, or loving—and he could immediately have her pressed against any solid surface.

**15 – Touch**

He'd been afraid to touch her at first, for fear that he would taint her with his mako-altered body, but she had shown him time and again that she loved him too much to care if he was a danger to her.

**16 - Weakness**

He had considered himself his family's weakness, and not in a good way; but seeing how much damage had been done without him, and seeing the look in Tifa's eyes upon his return, Cloud realized that he could also be their greatest strength.

**17 - Tears**

He would never be able to forgive himself for the tears she'd shed during his absence, and he made himself promise that never again would he cause her that kind of pain.

**18 - Speed**

While on Fenrir he had been able to reach new, never before seen speeds, but he realized that there was nothing faster than the way he had fallen well and truly in love with Tifa.

**19 - Wind**

Tifa smiled as they stepped into Aerith's church and wondered if it was her imagination when she heard her friend's voice in the wind; next to her, Cloud slipped his hand over hers and together they stepped forward to thank her and Zack for giving Cloud a second chance at life.

**20 - Freedom**

He had thought that riding Fenrir had given him the freedom he needed from his nightmares, until he found out what it was to lose himself in Tifa's body, heart, and soul.

**21 – Life**

He had very nearly fainted in the delivery room, seeing his first son being born into the world; but then, when he had held a very loud, squirming bundle in his arms, Cloud finally understood what it was like to create a life.

**22 – Jealousy**

He knew it was wrong to feel jealous of the person clinging to Tifa, but he couldn't help it; ever since the baby had been born, it seemed that Tifa had pretty much forgotten he existed, Cloud thought sullenly.

**23 – Hands**

Before, it had been Tifa's hands that would wake him early in the mornings, eager and pleasurable; nowadays, the hands that woke him were much smaller, and smelled like baby powder as they pried his eyes open to a new day.

**24 – Taste**

He always enjoyed baking night, since it was on those nights that her lips tasted of chocolate, and her collarbones were faintly sprinkled with powdered sugar; but what he enjoyed the most was seeing her blush when he called her his dessert.

**25 – Devotion**

If there was anyone who ever embodied true devotion, it was Tifa Lockhart: friend, fighter, lover, and mother; he wouldn't change her for the world, and he would love her with the same strength she did everyone in her life.

**26 – Forever**

He hadn't needed a paper to show Tifa that they had been meant for forever, but seeing her in a white dress, so radiant and beautiful, he had been thankful that he had agreed to wearing the tux and the shoes that pinched his feet.

**27 – Blood**

Tifa had been alarmed when she'd caught the bloody gauze in the wastebasket, but upon investigating, Marlene had assuaged her worries by telling her that Cloud had cleaned her skinned knee, put on a band-aid, and had kissed it to make it feel better.

**28 – Sickness**

Vincent referred to it as hell, and Tifa just grimaced at the mention, but Cloud had come to know it as morning sickness; it was just his rotten luck that while Tifa was the one who was having the baby, _he_ was feeling the side effects.

**29 – Melody**

Cloud stood outside of the kids' room, listening to her sing a haunted melody that reminded him too much of Nibelheim; despite the painful memories, it felt all too soothing to his tired ears, and his eyes slipped closed, tense muscles relaxing.

**30 – Star**

Aerith had been kindness; Barret had been strength; Yuffie had been cunning; but Tifa, she had been their spirit, their star, keeping them going, and holding _him_ together.

**31 – Home**

Even with it's dank interior, the muted walls, and the faint traces of alcohol, it was the home she and Cloud had made together, and it would always hold a special place in her heart.

**32 - Confusion**

"I'm having a baby," Tifa had whispered a few heart-stopping seconds ago; unfortunately, it took a _gentle _punch to the jaw to jar him out of his confusion and for the words to finally sink in.

**33 – Fear**

After the words had finally registered, his first fear had been that the baby would suffer some sort of consequence by what had been done to him at the hands of Hojo; then, at the first ultrasound, after the tests had revealed a normal, healthy baby, the new fear had been whether or not he was ready to change a diaper.

**34 - Lightning/Thunder**

She had grown accustomed to Nibelheim lightning storms during her childhood, but when they were accompanied by rain and thunder, she missed feeling Cloud's warm arms around her.

**35 – Bonds**

Folding laundry, Tifa had to smile at the warmth in her heart; watching Cloud and the children painting the walls and smiling showed her how valuable their family bond was and how grateful she was for the second chance they had all received.

**36 – Market**

Of all the strange places, just watching her poke and prod at tomatoes, the words had slipped past his lips without preamble; Tifa's wide eyed stare had quickly transformed into an amused, happy expression before she murmured, "I do."

**37 – Technology**

Her sniggers reached him even from behind her hand, and Cloud found himself turning to glare; what was the big deal with not knowing how to turn on one of Reeve's super computers?

**38 – Gift**

On their fifth anniversary, Tifa had asked her friends to take the kids so that she could have a private evening with Cloud; dinner had been ready, but it had been forgotten the moment she had told him that they were alone.

**39 – Smile**

Cloud had always been a man of few words, but even Tifa had to admit that his smile spoke more than Yuffie could in one minute.

**40 - Innocence**

What Tifa would've paid to have had a video camera in hand when Marlene had asked Cloud where babies came from; red cheeks and spluttering went very well with his image of a stoic warrior.

**41 - Completion**

He'd been nervous their first night together post-Meteor, but she'd allowed him to drown his insecurities and doubts in her body, and laying in her arms, enjoying the afterglow, he couldn't help but feel whole once more.

**42 - Clouds**

She found him outside, staring up at his namesakes with a peaceful expression on his face; unable to keep her hands to herself, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her ear to his chest to listen to his strong, healthy heartbeat.

**43 - Sky**

The day they married, the sky was cloudy and gray, but despite the threat of rain, both Cloud and Tifa couldn't help but feel as if they were receiving Zack and Aerith's blessings.

**44 - Heaven**

He had never believed in heaven, but in the dead of night, with his skin sliding easily over Tifa's, her breath laboring with his, Cloud found he could start to believe.

**45 - Hell**

He had known the true meaning of hell, years before in a lab in Nibelheim, but all it took was a smile and the sweet taste of Tifa's lips to realize that he could touch heaven.

**46 - Sun**

Though sometimes the color of the deepest ocean, clear and cool, whenever Cloud looked at her, Tifa found that his gaze could warm her like the sun.

**47 – Moon**

He enjoyed seeing the milky glow of her skin under the light of the moon; it made him feel as if he were looking at an angel who had come into his life when he'd needed her the most.

**48 – Waves**

The fresh smell from the ocean waves woke her from her peaceful slumber, and she looked to her side to find deep blue eyes watching her; she had never imagined that she would live to see the day when she could call herself Mrs. Cloud Strife.

**49 - Hair**

He had recognized the change within seconds of walking into the bar, and Cloud couldn't contain the guilt he felt when she'd replied that she'd needed a change in her life from the monotony it had been stuck in since he had left.

**50 – Supernova**

That night, under the Highwind, he had loved her with the strength of a supernova, telling her without words how much she meant to him; and years later, he kept showing her how important she was and would continue to be for the rest of his life.


End file.
